How the World Works

Complete PYP Theme Lesson Plan List

Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students “tune in” to their unit on weather. Using a popular story, students collect weather words. Collecting weather-related words requires the kids to be concentrated listeners! You will be surprised at what they come up with and how inspired they are by Judi Barrett’s classic… Read more

Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students make a book using upcycled or recycled materials. They then fill the book with the weather words they collected in the first lesson. They can choose to write a fiction story similar to Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett. Or, they… Read more

Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students continue extending what they are learning about weather by using simple coding software to program a weather event. Students will be able to make the sun set or rise, send a tornado spinning across a field, or create a thunderstorm. There is no limit… Read more

Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students review the water cycle, learn about a famous painter, and clean their desks all at the same time! Three integrated elements, one class period, and a heck of a good time! Lesson Plan: Suggested Grades: 3-4 Objective: To review the water cycle through literature… Read more

Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students learn to recognize forces and simple machines in a delightful storybook. Chris Van Dusen is a masterful storyteller and illustrator, and the kids are immediately hooked by the rhymes, illustrations, and then the unbelievable storyline! Don’t be fooled – forces and simple machines are… Read more

Lesson Overview: Building on last week’s “Tuning In” work, today’s lesson looks at the forces of flight. Using a short video from DK Find Out, a simple handout for taking notes, and a bit of colored paper, students put the forces to the test by folding and flying their own… Read more

Lesson Overview: In this unit, the students have been learning about forces and simple machines. They “tuned in” using the work of Chris Van Dusen and a naughty bear after a bag of marshmallows. Next, they took notes from a digital information source, then built and flew their own paper… Read more

Lesson Overview: In this lesson, the children conduct a simple science experiment with eggshells and library books. This is the only lesson in BiblioGarden that is designed to be a science experiment, so take advantage of this opportunity! Building on the children’s work with forces, you will use library books… Read more

Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students think about the human life cycle. How do humans begin? Were grown-ups ever babies? What do different stages of a human life cycle look like? Used to “tune in,” this lesson enables you to get a feel for how much the children know at… Read more

Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students think about the first part of the human life cycle, infancy and the toddler stages. Using some of the library’s books about babies and toddlers, children will play “Guess the Baby” and be able to explain some of the things that babies and young… Read more

Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students think about growing up. What are some of the things that will change as they grow? How will they cope with these changes? They already know the basic parts of a lifecycle, but growth happens in between. The concepts in the life cycle unit… Read more

Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students learn what plants need to grow. This is a very simplified “plant life cycle” lesson, but with a darling literature link. Do plants eat pizza, cheeseburgers, or ice cream? Have your students discover what plants need to thrive, then complete a simple drawing to… Read more

Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students use what they know about grown-ups to make connections to their Unit of Inquiry. Using the library stock of print materials on Moms and Dads (or Grandmas and Grandpas – your choice!), get the kids thinking, writing, and playing with each other and with… Read more